The Real Reason The U.S. Military Is Still In Iraq

In 1998, the United States passed the Iraq Liberation Act It established a policy of support for regime change in Iraq

12 years, and more than a trillion dollars later, the US started winding down its occupation of Iraq, having expanded the original mission from supporting regime change to outright invasion and occupation Far-reaching and broad foreign goals are always under threat of “mission creep”, as has been seen in Iraq So, what exactly is mission creep? Well, in the scope of foreign policy, mission creep is when military action or diplomacy move beyond the original intention or framework The term was first used in 1993, but the concept has been present in most wars and interventions The potential for mission creep is always present due to the complexity of actually accomplishing the original goals

For example, since 2013 in Syria and Iraq, President Obama repeatedly promised “no boots on the ground” in relation to the ISIS intervention But as of 2016, the widening scope of the intervention, as well as the rise of extremist militants have led to more than 5,000 US service members in Iraq, and about 300 in Syria Somewhat similarly, the 2011 intervention in Libya was widely considered an example of mission creep Originally, the UN adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Libyan Civil War, creating a no-fly zone, strengthening an arms embargo, and perhaps most relevantly, defending civilians unless it meant introducing a “foreign occupation force” However, despite Muammar Gaddafi’s promise to accept the ceasefire, troops from the UK, Italy, France, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates entered Libya to enforce the resolution

Some, including political activist Noam Chomsky, maintain that this intervention actually violated the original UN Resolution, even though it was ostensibly for the benefit of protecting civilians The eventual regime change was not part of the UN Resolution, but due to mission creep, ended up as an unavoidable repercussion of the invasion Mission creep is dangerous as it can continue with every military success until a massive military failure The War in Iraq is an extreme example of mission creep, and has ultimately become a major criticism of US foreign policy Even with outlined limits, such as in the Libya UN Resolution, mission creep can still occur